President Irfaan Ali today hinted at the lifting of the minimum wage and the income tax threshold and also announced that a Democracy Award will be unveiled on October 5th.
The President spoke at a press conference today at State House.
In June last year, following pressure from trade unions and civil society, the $60,000 National Minimum Wage Order was signed by Labour Minister, Joseph Hamilton and gazetted.
According to the Order, private sector employees should not be paid less than $60,147 per month. The order took effect from July 1, 2022. The change in the National Minimum Wage came approximately five years after the last one, which took effect on January 1, 2017. At that time the rate moved from $34,500 to $44,200.
A section of the President’s opening statement today follows:
“On the economy, I am currently re-evaluating our revenues, projected revenues, the economy based on its strength and further adjustment to the daily minimum wage. So, this is something that I am presently reviewing with an aim at a further adjustment in the daily minimum wage.
Also reviewing the absorptive capacity at further advancing liquidity in your pockets, if I may put it that way, by an adjustment in the tax threshold. This is another issue that I would say is on the front burner of consideration. We are analysing the numbers and ensuring that whatever we come up with is in keeping with the sustainability of our economy.
On the issue of democracy, as I said earlier, we have been able to strengthen our democracy, our democratic creed if you want to put it that way, and restore power to the people. And I see some voices on the matter of democracy that were voiceless when democracy was under threat, that exhibit a complete lack of spine when the branches of democracy were being tenderised to be broken.
Suddenly the voices in the wilderness, some, have been reawakened, and guess what, I’m happy, because that is when you know democracy is alive and well, when those voices are no longer afraid to come out of this wilderness and find a place in a free, open and democratic society without fear, then you’re happy because you know, once again, democracy is alive and well.
But what defies logic, again, is it’s just like the sugar workers. Can you imagine the APNU+AFC, wanting to lecture you on free and fair elections? Imagine the architects of rigging and the custodians of the new numbering system and new mathematical analysis wanting to teach the forces of democracy about democracy. If this is not open banditry, what is it? And sometimes when you call it for what it is, those who are guilty are upset but that is how frank discussion sometimes emerges.
So, our credentials and democracy cannot be questioned because we have always been on the right side of democracy, and I owe it to have the custodians of democracy and those who fought for democracy have that award.
The Democracy Award will be announced and unveiled in Guyana on October 5th. The awards would have come, should have come, earlier this year but we are currently in the production of those awards.
The necessary gazetting to have this award listed as part of our national collection of awards will be done. In honour of those who stood up with spine, with character, with dignity, their country shall stand them up tall in the eyes of the world, and society”.
